Purity
by StaffSergeant
Summary: Project Purity is a success, but it comes at a cost. Royce Walker, the Lone Wanderer, sacrificed his life in order to fulfill his parents' wishes to provide clean water to the Capital Wastes. He had been ready to die, the problem is that he's not exactly sure he's supposed to be in this strange place. Now on Remnant the Lone Wanderer must now face a new enemy and meet new people.
1. The Strange Case of the Lone Wanderer

Purity

Chapter 1

The Strange Case of the Lone Wanderer

_**Fallout Belongs to Bethesda Softworks**_

_**RWBY to Rooster Teeth and Monty Oum **_

_"Revelation 21:6 I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end. I will give unto him that is athirst of the fountain of the water of life freely. It was your mother's favorite passage." James Walker, to his one year old son Royce Walker, Vault 101_

Dying never really bothered Royce Walker but here he was lying on his back in the middle of a strange forest. If this was the afterlife, he was not impressed. The Lone Wanderer blinked once as he sat up before realizing one, he had been shot up in the leg, and two punching an Enclave Soldier in the face still hurt even if he had a Power Fist strapped to his right arm.

Royce swore under his breath before rolling over. He was glad to see the familiar shape of his Xuanlong Assault Rifle next to him. He reached out for it and managed to get the sling. Royce sat up being mindful of his leg and exhaled harshly. He found his pack as well and he reached inside for a Stimpack. Jamming it into his injured leg he felt the medicine start working its magic. Royce held his breath then got onto his knees. Exhaling hard he finally got back to his feet with a painful twinge of his injured leg.

It was hard to believe that Royce was only nineteen. He was quite tall reaching a height almost six feet, his medium but tough physique was formed out of necessity. Survival at any cost was the general rule of the Capital Wasteland. His features were sharp if a bit average, his unkempt brown hair was hidden underneath a cloth head wrap. His eyes were a murky hazel, revealing an indomitable spirit that bowed to nothing and no one. A prominent scar ran down his right eyelid, a memento from his first kill. He wore a dark green colored set of Combat Armor, a gift from Reilly's Rangers in exchange for rescuing the team from dire straits in the nightmarish DC ruins. Underneath the armor was a white t-shirt and dirty cargo pants. His boots were caked with mud and grime but they were still serviceable.

His left forearm was encased by his signature Pip-Boy 3000, a compact information system that saved Royce's ass more than enough times in DC. His right hand was also encased by a Pneumatic Power Fist, simply called Fisto. A scoped revolver was holstered at his hip alongside a trench knife with a knuckle duster handle. Opposite the revolver and knife was a heavy plasma pistol, the MPLX Novasurge prototype.

Royce shrugged his shoulders as he took a look around. That was when he heard gunshots. Reflexively he crouched, shouldering his assault rifle and unlatching the safety. His eyes scanned the area. More gunshots, he tracked the sound and checked his Pip Boy. What he saw made him sigh.

_"Error: No Robco Satellites Detected. GPS functionality disabled, please contact {Error} to resolve this Problem." _

"Great," he muttered slightly annoyed. "No map. I'm doing this the hard way then."

The sound of growling caught his attention. Royce turned to see what looked like a Yao Guai staring at him through the bushes. It was a big one with jet black fur, spines on its back and a skull like mask on its face. Red eyes glared at him hatefully.

Royce responded by firing a three round burst from the Xuanlong. 5.56mm rounds tore through the bear's furred bulk but it kept coming. It swiped at the Lone Wanderer. Royce rolled out of the way, turning to riddle the damn thing's body with bullets. Roaring in pain the Yao Guai thing turned swiping again at Royce who ducked and charged forward readying Fisto. His strength doubled by Fisto, Royce struck with a brutal upper cut that nearly decapitated the bear's head, leaving it hanging by a mere scrap of flesh. It was dead before it hit the floor. Royce loaded a new clip into the Xuanlong as he turned to find more of the bears coming at him.

He let them have it. His Xuanlong barking Royce met the first beast's charge with a straight punch to the torso. He heard ribs break as Royce continued forward, he fired the rest of his rifle's clip into the bear's face killing it. Slinging his rifle Royce drew the Novasurge from its holster. It gave a whine as Royce faced the other Yao Guai, or whatever they were. They still resembled bears though. Two others charged him. Without hesitation the Lone Wanderer fired the Novasurge twice. One bear was completely cored like an apple, the plasma blast punched right through its chest. The other simply liquefied into a green goo, something that Royce had never figured out. Sometimes it got really silly but he never complained.

The Novasurge blew another bear's head off with a concentrated blast. Royce dodged a swipe from the third bear, one that scratched at his chest plate. He reared back his power fist and cracked the bastard's head open before he fired a shot from his plasma pistol, liquefying the animal's brains. Royce quickly dove under the fourth's lunge and rolled to a stop. He took aim and fired his last couple of shots into the beast's legs burning them away. Royce raised Fisto and smashed its skull open with a well aimed strike.

Royce looked up from the corpse realizing he was all alone now. He listened for anything else that was coming his way. He scanned the area before reloading the Novasurge and holstering it in exchange for the Xuanlong. Reloading quickly he stepped over a broken corpse and chose a direction. North.

Maybe he'd get lucky, maybe he wouldn't.

/

"Hey, did you hear that?"

Blake Belladonna looked at her companion, Yang Xiao Long, with an impassive face. "Hmm?"

"That! The weird thumping noise!" Yang said excitedly. "It might be Ruby!"

Blake simply quirked a brow. Yes she had heard the thumping noise along with the steady crack of what sounded like an assault rifle. A model she hadn't heard before.

"I thought your sister used something else?" She asked quietly.

"Yeah well..." Yang looked ready to take off at any second. She blinked as another tearing sound echoed from the forest. "Yeesh, whoever that guy is he must be real trigger happy."

"He wouldn't be shooting at random would he?" Blake's expression turned a bit dark at that. Judging from what she saw of the Headmaster she didn't think that Ozpin would be that lax with recruiting.

"Let's check it out!" Yang suggested. And before Blake could even reply the blonde was already off to find the mystery shooter. Blake sighed and decided to follow her.

/

Royce's three round burst ended the life of the bipedal wolf creature that had been charging at him. The momentum still brought the corpse forward and Royce simply shouldered it aside. His Xuanlong barked once more, the 5.56 rounds punching into their torsos and rupturing organs. As the two beasts fell, three more took their places. Royce took down two with an extended burst then stepped aside as the wolf biped swiped at him. Turning around Royce smashed Fisto across its face, breaking its neck and sending it flying. The corpse smacked into a tree and fell like a broken rag doll.

An even bigger bastard crashed through the trees straight at him. Royce took aim and activated his Vault-Tec Assisted Targeting System. V.A.T.S. for short. The world seemed to slow down to a halt as he aimed for the torso, legs and head. He fired a full burst at each target watching with grim satisfaction as the beast topple to the floor in a wailing, whining heap.

The world went back into real time as the huge wolf beast began to howl louder in pain. Royce drew his revolver and walked over to its side. He took aim and blew its brains out all over the grass. The howling stopped. Holding his revolver tightly the Lone Wanderer turned feeling someone watching him.

/

"Oh my gosh..." Yang shook her head in disbelief. The dude, she was sure it was a dude, had just taken down a Beowolf pack without breaking a sweat. The guy didn't even seem to flinch! That and his weapons were weird. Where was the Dust? What was his Aura? They looked real crummy too but judging from the state he left the Beowolf pack they were just as effective as her own.

"I saw that too." Blake said as she looked at the man's assault rifle. It had an extended magazine. It looked crudely made, not like the smooth weapons made in the Vale Kingdom. The stranger wielding it looked very young, with unkempt brown hair under a cloth wrap and murky hazel eyes that were tired. He was wearing a set of grimy, dark green combat armor. Dents where bullets made their mark were visible on the chest plate. Other weapons were seen on his form, a knife and another projectile weapon she had never seen before. He was...an intimidating sight to say the least. Blake didn't know why, she just felt...nervous around him. He had scars on his face, the most prominent one crossed his right eye.

Blake looked up before realizing she had been spotted. In a single motion the stranger had reloaded, chambered a round and aimed his weapon. Right at the both of them.

/

Royce had seen the blonde from a mile away. Most notably seen on her top was a black crest resembling a burning heart. "Wow!" She exclaimed as she emerged from the bushes. "You were awesome! Where'd you learn how to fight like that!?"

Confused the Lone Wanderer simply kept his rifle trained on her. She was a pretty thing but Royce wasn't that foolish. Not anymore. He'd shot his fair share of women sure but to be fair they were trying to kill him too. Perhaps it would change today, perhaps not. Either way he was prepared for anything.

"Hey come on now take it easy! I'm not a Grimm you know?" She said with a bright smile. Royce didn't take his finger off the trigger.

"What's a Grimm?" He rasped cautiously.

"You know...the monsters that you just destroyed! Humanity's great enemy that kinda thing?" She looked at him, as if he should know all of this.

Another girl, this one with black hair and a ribbon approached. Royce kept an eye on her.

"Uh...Yang?" She told her blonde companion. "I...don't think he's a student."

"Huh?" The blonde girl, Yang, turned to regard her. "What do you mean by that?"

The black haired girl tilted her head towards Royce. "I can see it clear as day, Yang. He's...not from here. Poor guy looks really confused. Let me do the talking. I have a feeling Ozpin would want to talk to the guy."

Confused wasn't even part of it. Royce had been ready to die the moment he stepped into the irradiated chamber of Project Purity to start the process. He realized his parents' dream of bringing clean water to the wastes. He had been ready to finish it, even if the deed would claim his life. Now in whatever here-after he was, these two strange girls were quite possibly the only way he could find out where he ended up.

If he was even on Earth at all. Last time he left the planet little green men tried to probe him. _No one _probed the Lone Wanderer without getting away with it.

/

Blake felt relieved when the stranger finally lowered his weapon. He looked ready to talk now.

"Where am I?" The stranger asked, his voice was low and tired just like his eyes.

"You're in the Emerald Forest, on the grounds of Beacon Academy. You haven't heard of it haven't you?" Blake asked.

The stranger shook his head.

"The kingdom of Vale? Vytal?"

Nope. Blake sighed, this wasn't good. It was their first year at Beacon and already they were dealing with someone who was a fish out of water.

"I'm not going to like this answer, but I'm not on Earth am I?" The stranger asked her his hazel eyes looking not only confused but irritated.

"...No?" she tried hopefully. And winced as the stranger turned abruptly away from them and swore explosively under his breath before kicking the Alpha Beowolf's corpse with a violent shot from his boot. His swearing turned quite volatile as he began kicking it even more.

From what she could get from the angry tirade she heard something about "alien abduction" and "That stupid book..." She...didn't know what to say. Yang looked at her and was just as confused as she was. The blonde eventually smirked. Having only met her a few minutes ago, Blake dreaded what she was planning.

"Well, you should come with us!" Yang told the guy who had turned back towards them with distrust. "Come on! You're not exactly from here! We can help!"

"...Why?" He asked.

Yang faltered slightly. "Huh?"

"Why are you helping me?"

Yang and Blake looked at each other. "Well why not?" Yang said looking back at the stranger. "You-"

A loud cawing alerted the unlikely trio as a huge crow flew over them. Blake had noticed the stranger was taking aim at it.

/

That was the biggest fucking bird he'd ever seen. Royce tracked it and deduced it was headed north. Good thing the bastard didn't spot them, otherwise they'd be in a heap of trouble. He had no heavy weapons on him and even with the Xuanlong his chances of killing such a beast were slim to none.

"Alright," he said firmly while making his decision. To hell or high-water, he'd see this shit through and hopefully get some answers. "I'll come with you."

"Ah good!" the blonde said "My name's Yang! And this is Blake!" The black haired girl gave a polite nod.

"Royce, my name's Royce Walker." The Wanderer answered them. "You know a way out of this forest?"

"Easy, follow the bird!" Yang said "It's headed north isn't it Blake?"

"Yes."

/

Glynda frowned as she consulted her scroll. "Professor Ozpin." The gray haired professor turned to regard his subordinate.

"Yes Miss Goodwitch, what is it?"

"It seems that we have an unexpected guest." She showed him the scroll. Sure enough Ozpin caught sight of the armed stranger following two of Team RWBY, who were on an extra credit assignment. His eyes narrowed but he could not do anything about it right now.

"Continue observing, we'll deal with this when the time comes."

/

Royce was real quiet, Blake realized. Then again from what he had told them she could understand why. Although...

He said he had died, normal people don't sound so...relaxed when dealing with their own deaths. As they headed towards their objective they were waylaid by myriad creatures. To his credit, Royce didn't seem nervous about the Grimm. But what made Blake and even Yang a bit nervous was how he dealt with it. All cool and calm. He said he didn't know what the Grimm were but judging from the way he handled himself that didn't matter.

He'd kill them anyway.

They were fighting off another Beowolf pack. As Yang smashed one of the wolves aside with her gauntlets Blake turned to see Royce just casually put a full burst of rounds into a Beowolf's torso. He didn't hesitate, his eyes seemed...dead. They were blank as he moved to finish off the dying Beowolf. He took aim and fired a three round burst into its head. The Beowolf's death rattle silenced.

"Clear." his voice...the sound of it made her shudder.

"Um...you okay?" Yang asked sounding concerned.

Royce shrugged. "I'm just a little tired." He said softly. "Shouldn't we get going?"

"Uh...sure." Yang quickly turned to Blake. "Mind if we talk a little? Um I need to discuss something with my partner."

Royce shrugged. Rushing was pointless, and his patience seemed to have only grown over his travels in the Capital Wastes. He simply turned around to scan the area behind them looking for threats.

/

"There's something wrong with this guy!" Yang whispered.

"He can hear you Yang, calm down." Blake admonished her companion. "He's...probably been fighting for a while now." She had seen such fatigue before and read about such things in her books. People changed, one had said, after fighting a war. They seemed...listless, always making sure to watch their backs in case of any perceived threat. Royce Walker looked just like the poor men and women described in her books. War-torn. Listless. Tired. It was tragic really.

Yang's look of worry ate at her but at the same time she felt a little irritated that she was so judgmental of the mysterious young man that they just met. Blake decided right then and there that she'd let Ozpin decide what to do with him. In the mean time they had an assignment to finish and a lost stranger to help.

"Come on Yang let's keep going." She said heading north.

"But..." Yang gestured to Royce's back pleadingly.

"He's coming with us."

/

The two girls sighed in relief. Royce just peeked over their shoulders. The ruins were small and looked like they'd been here a while. "Ah? Weiss and Ruby aren't here yet?" Yang looked surprised.

"They probably got held up or something, Yang. Don't worry Ruby and Weiss can take care of themselves."

Royce kept the rear guard again. Idly he wondered who the hell Ruby and Weiss were and decided against it as he spotted opposition approaching. "Contact." He said loud enough for Blake and Yang to hear. More of those wolf bipeds with a pack leader.

"Shoot. And here I was hoping to get this done quick enough. Oh well Extra credit is extra credit. Right Blake?" Yang said with a devilish grin. Ember Celica unfolded into gauntlet mode.

_What the fuck did I just see? _Royce looked startled. Yang it seemed like the look on his face.

"Cat got your tongue?" She chuckled with a smirk. "Come on, we've got a job to do."

"I'll start looking for the stuff we need." Blake said as she turned to find whatever the two girls needed. "Keep them off me."

That was easy enough for Royce as he crouched and took aim. The moment the wolf bipeds began to charge Royce opened fire. Burst after burst of 5.56 tore into the beasts, one succumbed to a lucky headshot. Two more toppled as the rounds punched into their chests. Royce's eyes narrowed as he fired again and again, before backing off reloading. He slung the Xuanlong as the pack got closer, drawing his Novasurge and readying Fisto.

"Wanna make this a contest?" Yang challenged hopping in place.

Royce personally found that stupid and shook his head in the negative. As the first Beowolf jumped to land on him, the Wanderer aimed the Novasurge and let off a burst of plasma. The Beowolf vaporized in mid air. Yang gaped at the spectacle then shook her head.

"Whoa cool! Is that a laser gun?" Yang exclaimed stars in her eyes as she punched a Beowolf in the face sending it flying.

"No." Royce's answer was succinct as his Novasurge liquefied another Beowolf. Although on the inside he had to admit looking at Yang's star struck expression tickled him a little. "Plasma." A loud thumping noise followed each pull of the trigger as he fired into the pack. Some beasts were blown off their feet, still others liquefied. Yang and Royce fought back to back, punching, kicking, shooting.

Yang was highly aggressive, using her considerable speed and strength to overwhelm the Grimm. Everything seemed to melt as Yang's Ember Celica Gauntlets went into play. Another Beowolf was sent flying into a tree, bones broken. Two more succumbed to bone shattering blows. Yang was laughing as she sped around the battlefield, her gauntlets speaking death to any that stood in their way.

In comparison Royce may not be able to move as fast, but he patiently waited for the enemy to strike first before countering. Yang was showy, but Royce was not. He was just downright...brutal that it was scary. A Beowolf had the misfortune of going wide. Royce punched its left arm off with a quick uppercut from Fisto before coring the screaming thing with the Novasurge. The Plasma weapon beeped empty. Royce reached into his belt for an energy cell and slammed it home. The Novasurge whined in response as though it were still ready for more.

"...Ready." Royce whispered to himself as he entered a colder state of mind.

/

"Whoo! Made it!" Ruby Rose, Yang's younger sister had jumped into the fray only to find there wasn't much left of the Beowolf pack. "Hey! What did I miss!?" She looked curiously at the young man who was checking on the Beowolf corpses. He kicked one in the side before deciding it was dead. She had never seen him before. "Hi there!" She waved at the stranger and much to her surprise and delight he waved back politely before just standing there.

"Jeez, Ruby, you sure took your time." Yang's grin was infectious as Blake walked over with their objectives, several bags of Dust.

"Honestly Ruby, we could have gotten there faster if you didn't walk so slow!" Weiss Schnee looked positively irritated with her darker haired companion. She then raised one ivory colored brow as she regarded the young man who took a drink out of a bottle of water before stowing that on his ragged looking pack. Everything about him spoke "vagabond" but he exuded an aura of lethality that few would miss.

"Uh...Yang, who exactly is that?" Weiss asked suspiciously looking the stranger in the eye. The young man regarded her with a blank stare of his own.

"This guy right here?" Yang presented the young man with a little bit of flair. "This guy? He's a Grimm killing master!"

"His name's Royce." Blake answered for her because to be honest the young man was starting to look uncomfortable. "He's not a student. We just found him in the woods."

"Wait as in he just popped up all of a sudden?" Ruby asked tilting her head confused. "Is he lost or something? I'm pretty sure Professor Goodwitch just gave the assignment to us."

"Like I said Ruby he's not a student." Blake answered patiently. "In fact I don't think he's from around here at all."

"You mean he's an alien!?" Ruby yelled excitedly as she turned to the young man called Royce who stepped back in surprise, his stance tightened.

"Ruby..." Blake shook her head and despite herself she could feel a smile creeping up her face. Ever since she met Yang and Ruby she found herself laughing more often than not. She watched Ruby walk up to Royce.

"Can. You. Understand. Me?" Ruby spoke slowly as though Royce was indeed an alien, which would surprise Blake because he was as human as, well almost, all of them.

"Yes?" Royce looked really freaked out and Blake felt sorry for him. While she wasn't as bad as Nora or Yang Ruby could be a bit overwhelming.

"Yay!" Ruby was ecstatic. "I just made first contact with an alien!"

"...I'm not an alien." Royce said quietly.

"Huh?"

"I'm not an alien. Do I look like one?" Royce got a bit louder, sounding quite overwhelmed. "And will someone please tell me who these two are?" he backed away from Ruby. "You're a bit too close for comfort."

"Well, glad you asked." Yang happily wrapped an arm around Ruby's neck and shoulders. "This little runt is my sister, Ruby. And Ice princess over there is Weiss."

"Don't call me that!" Weiss complained before walking over to the stranger.

/

Royce looked at white haired girl as she looked up at him with a scowl. She seemed...unpleasant. Judging from the worried look on the girl in red's face, Ruby if he was correct, his hunch was right. The Lone Wanderer just looked right back at her, his expression impassive.

"Is there a problem?"

"Who are you supposed to be?" Her scowl deepened. "I'm pretty sure you're not even supposed to be here."

"True," Royce answered civilly. "I go where the wind takes me. Don't really have a home anymore." Sure he owned a house in Megaton, but anyone was welcome to use it as a safe house at any time. He distinctly remembered telling Simms that if he didn't make it back from Project Purity, then the house was a permanent shelter to anyone who needed it.

"So you're homeless." The girl sounded like a prude, a lot like Allistair Tenpenny, an old bastard of an eccentric who Royce had killed one fine day. Tenpenny liked to treat the Wasteland as his personal safari, until Royce put a stop to it.

"That a problem?" Royce asked her quietly.

"Weiss! Stop being so rude!" Ruby admonished the girl as she was about to open her mouth. She turned to look at Royce. "I'm sorry." She blurted.

"No need to apologize." Royce told Ruby. "You're not responsible for someone else's actions."

/

Weiss' scowl got a lot darker at what he was insinuating. How dare this...this vagabond think that he knew better than her? She was about to speak her mind when Ruby looked at her.

"Stop." She said upset. "He hasn't done anything wrong, Weiss. How can you be so mean?"

"Mean? He could be dangerous!" Weiss countered waving her hand at the tired looking stranger. "We don't even know where he came from or why he's here!"

Blake intervened just in time. "That's why we're going to bring him to Ozpin right?" She said looking at Ruby and Weiss.

"Ozpin?" The stranger asked.

"The headmaster of the school." Blake responded. "Come on, Ruby. We've been here for a while. Professor Goodwitch might be worried." She turned to Royce. "Sorry...We were getting sidetracked."

Royce just shrugged his shoulders patiently.

/

Royce listened attentively as Blake told him where he ended up. Remnant, long ago the human race had been hunted to near extinction by the Grimm. As time passed humanity discovered, Dust which was called Nature's Wrath. With this miracle substance humanity took back their destiny from the Grimm and built great civilizations. Dust was a propellant used to power the different machinery and weapons used in Remnant.

The Lone Wanderer was impressed. It certainly sounded better than America's own history, which even now slept in the Wastelands. Still... there was one thing that bothered him.

"Who made the Grimm?" Royce asked Blake.

"No one knows," The black haired girl answered. "They appeared the same time humanity did and started hunting. That's what we do, we hunt them back."

"Yup!" Ruby said "We're all training to become the best. Hey, I wonder if Professor Ozpin will make you a student Royce!"

"Ruby!" Weiss looked shocked. "What makes you think he'll even be accepted!?"

"Well, Blake and I did see him take on a Beowolf pack and win." Yang interjected.

Royce shook his head, did they not realize he was here?

"Pah!" Weiss crossed her arms. "And I'm supposed to take your word for it?"

"I'm dead serious, Royce is a lot stronger than he looks." Yang told Weiss. "Come on Blake back me up."

Blake gave her own assent. "I really didn't know what to expect when I first saw him, but he can hold his own Weiss."

/

Blake winced when she saw who was at Beacon's main ground, the ever serious Glynda Goodwitch standing alongside the headmaster himself. Ozpin's eyes were curious as they locked onto Royce's own. She was nervous for some reason and it involved the young man Team RWBY found in Forever Fall. She didn't know why.

"It seems that you came back with more than just Dust, Miss Rose." Ozpin remarked pedantically. He bowed his head to the stranger. "Greetings, I am Ozpin, headmaster of this academy. Beside me is Professor Glynda Goodwitch." The bespectacled blonde professor next to him gave a curt nod.

Royce inclined his head to the both of them in respect. "Royce Walker." he replied politely. He looked at the massive academy. "This is a school?"

"Yes." Glynda answered. "Beacon Academy has been training the best of the best for generations here on Remnant."

Royce looked impassive as Ozpin took over from there. "Considering the...unique situation at hand I will have to speak with you privately within my office. Do not worry young man," he smiled as Royce tensed up automatically. "It is not an interrogation."

"Well, what's the worst that could happen?" Royce shrugged his shoulders.

/

The room they gave him used to be storage, but nonetheless it suited his current needs. Royce shrugged his rifle of its sling as he sat down to get some shut-eye. He told his story to Ozpin and was surprised that the old coffee drinking professor actually listened. If he believed it was another story but Royce felt that forcing somebody to believe in something they didn't was not the smartest way to go about things.

Ozpin was shrewd and he often asked questions but the most surprising thing was after Royce finished his tale.

/

_A few moments before..._

"Would you like to become a student here Mister Walker?" Ozpin asked Royce as he leaned forward to observe the young wanderer in front of his desk.

"Don't I have to apply first?" Royce asked incredulously.

"Not really," Ozpin answered with a half hidden smirk. "Like I said, you have a rather special circumstance and since I am the Headmaster I can figure something out. You have quite a long story, young man not like some of the learners here."

Royce thought about it. Being dead did give you a lot of new options, he mused.

"Why not?" Royce said "I got nothing else to do, being dead and all." Both men, young and old, chuckled.

"True. However since you arrived late you will be at a somewhat disadvantageous position. All students who come here to Beacon are required to go through initiation not only to earn their place within this academy but also to figure out assignments for their teams. These teams will learn together over the course of four years." Ozpin explained.

"So...I'll be doing this alone." Royce said as he thought over everything he learned so far.

"Unfortunately yes but I have seen that you are quite capable in combat, Mister Walker." Ozpin told him. "Any team that receives your skill set could be at an advantage, that will have to change some things as well."

Royce deliberated again then chuckled. "Alright, Professor. You got me, I'll take the initiation."

The professor smiled. "Good. Your initiation will start tomorrow. Is there anything you need?"

"Not yet." Royce answered. "Unless it involves a place to sleep in."

/

_Meanwhile, in the Academy Dining Hall..._

"Heard you guys found something interesting." Jaune Arc sat down in front of Team RWBY with Team JNPR following.

"Not _something _interesting," Ruby corrected. "Someone! He's an alien!"

"Whoa!" Nora Valkyrie stood up and leaned over. "You found _an alien _in the Forever Fall? Cool! What did he look like!? Does he have green skin!? Is he a-"

"Nora." Lie Ren said patiently calming his childhood friend down. The calm looking young man turned to Ruby. "An alien you say?"

"He's not an alien." Blake interjected looking up from a book. "He's just not from here."

"You mean he's a foreigner?" Pyrrha Nikos asked looking quite surprised.

"Yes!" Weiss looked quite...irritated. "A homeless vagabond from some backwater country no one has even heard of yet! I can't believe this, I thought this school had standards!" That statement caused scowls to appear on both Blake and Pyrrha's faces.

"You shouldn't be so judging of a man you just barely met." Pyrrha commented. "He could be a pleasant personality."

"You wouldn't be talking like that if you'd seen him fight Weiss." Yang said.

"Humph," Weiss still looked unconvinced. "He could also be a complete brute."

"At any rate I wonder what Ozpin's gonna say." Ruby wondered. "And which team he's gonna join."

JNPR and the rest of RWBY had nothing to say about that.

* * *

**Well finally got that out of my head. Since Finals is starting for me I won't update much but who knows... **

**Now about this little thing here...  
**

**I realize that sure my Courier's a complete badass but I haven't done a story for my own Lone Wanderer. So here he is...**

**Let's see what the Hero of the Capital Wasteland can bring to Remnant. **


	2. Initiation with Education

Chapter 2

Initiation with Education

_"Ya'll heard about that crazy kid from Vault 101..." Three-Dog, Galaxy News Radio_

_Emerald Forest, Beacon Academy_

"Your objective mister Walker is simple." Ozpin said as he gestured to the entrance of the Emerald Forest behind him. "There is a clearing to the north of this location, residing in it is a temple with several relics. You will retrieve one of those relics and bring them to me. Depending on your choice, I will assign you to a team. You will also be evaluated on your aptitude in combat."

Idly, Royce wondered what kind of psychopath would put a letter grade on how you kill something but decided the question wasn't worth it.

"What's the catch?" Royce asked already dreading the answer if there was going to be one.

Ozpin simply gestured to the forest. "Well, there are a lot of Grimm in there. So don't die."

/

"That's the new guy?" Jaune asked as the first years watched the video feed from Emerald Forest. "He...doesn't really look like much."

"Wow, he's...really, really tall!" Nora rocked back and forth. She had a point, he was as tall as Cardin Winchester. "And really, really cool! Look at that thing on his wrist! What is it? Is that his laser gun?"

"Looks like some kind of bracer." Ren said his magenta eyes narrowed. "Wonder if that's his weapon."

"No," Ruby shook her head. "...Ooh, nice rifle!" She watched as the new student shrugged off his assault rifle. "It is a rifle right Blake?"

Blake nodded. She had seen the thing rip into a Beowolf. She had also seen what the other weapon could do, the one in the holster. Yang had said it was a "plasma gun", whatever that meant. Still she silently wished Royce Walker luck as she watched the video feed attentively.

/

Royce took another draught of water before getting up. Holding the Xuanlong in hand, he kept heading north since that was where Ozpin needed him to go. No Grimm yet, and so far he had only seen two types. The wolf type and the bear/Yao Guai thing. He also kept a lookout for the bird type too. Still, despite his current objective he found the forest to be...beautiful. It was like finding Oasis back in the Capital Wastes and although the Treeminders were a strange sort of folk he found his experiences with them to be quite peaceful. That and talking to Harold, the resident talking tree, had been a refreshing experience.

It was amazing considering how old Harold was and that he used to be a traveler of sorts before finally being rooted in the Capital Wasteland. Despite his advancing age he was still one of the kindest souls the Lone Wanderer had met.

The Wanderer eventually found his first quarry. Two of the wolf bipeds were crouched around what looked like a huge boar with the same skull mask as the other Grimm. Perhaps it was a common feature around here, Royce mused. That and the damn things looked...designed. Maybe Ozpin would have some detail as to why the Grimm had the same features.

He was going to be a student anyway, perhaps he'd do his own research while he had the chance. Royce was slightly taken aback by the size of the dead boar, the tusks were almost as long as his arms. Good thing it was dead. Now he had to deal with the wolves. Royce reached down to his belt for a fragmentation grenade.

/

"Yay! Explosives!" Nora sounded real excited as the new guy threw the small pineapple shaped explosive at the two Beowolves. The ensuing explosion crippled both of the beasts. Howling in pain the two Grimm beasts were slaughtered by accurate bursts of gunfire from the trees. "Aww..."

"He's good." Ren commented as the new guy stepped out from the bushes towards the two dead Beowolves.

"They're just ordinary Beowolves. He got lucky." Weiss said. "The fool would probably struggle with an Alpha or that Boarbatusk if it was alive."

"Well, it's dead so let's leave it at that." Pyrrha spoke. The red haired girl tilted her head. "What's he doing?" JNPR and RWBY watched as the newbie kicked both corpses before shooting each twice in the head. "Is he..."

"Double tap." Blake answered. "He's making sure they're dead."

/

As Royce reloaded he saw another one of the wolf bipeds. Drawing the Novasurge he took one look at the stupefied thing, aimed and fired a burst of plasma into its face. Headless the corpse hit the floor like a ragdoll. Royce calmly holstered the Novasurge, reloaded his Xuanlong and kept moving.

Stupid motherfucker should have stayed out of his way.

/

"Whoa..." Ruby's face was alight with curiosity. "Was that a ray gun!? I want a ray gun!"

"That is so...cool! Hey you think he has an extra one? That would be great! Pew, pew! Zap!" Nora was hopping in place before Ren calmed her down. Still the surprised look on his face said more than enough.

Pyrrha watched with renewed interest while Jaune wondered what kind of weapon could just blow off a Beowolf's head like that. He then sulked in a jealous depression. Noticing her teammate and leader's bad mood, Pyrrha silently reassured the young blonde by putting a hand on his shoulder. In response Jaune gave a sheepish grin and continued watching, wondering if when they met the new student he could ask for some pointers.

He didn't seem to flinch in the face of danger.

Blake and Yang were familiar with the weapon so they had no comment. Yang smirked when she saw that Weiss' jaw had dropped.

"What kind of Dust was he using?" She asked Blake and Yang. Blake shrugged but Yang had an answer.

"He said it was plasma," Yang answered looking back at the screen. Royce was steadily approaching his destination and without any delays he could return to Ozpin in no time. "I...really don't think he's using Dust Weiss."

"Humph, so he has a ray gun." The Schnee heiress rolled her eyes. "Are we supposed to be impressed?"

"You looked impressed with your jaw hanging." Blake deadpanned causing Yang to snort and for the white haired girl to glare at her.

With the professors, Ozpin sipped coffee out of his mug as he watched the newest addition to Beacon advance towards his destination without stopping.

"That was a waste of ammunition." Glynda's eyes narrowed as she pushed her glasses up her nose.

"I wouldn't be so sure about that my dear Miss Goodwitch. The Grimm are notoriously durable. This young student has the right idea about dealing with the beasts. No quarter." Professor Peter Port nodded his head. "Where exactly did you find this exceptional young man Headmaster?"

"He arrived late." Ozpin had best keep this close to the chest. While he was the Headmaster he felt it prudent to keep Royce Walker's identity to himself for now, not out of malice but sometimes news reaches the most unscrupulous characters. Only Glynda Goodwitch knew so far and he could trust her.

"Hmm...Interesting sigil he has on his armor there, a four leaf clover." Bartholomew Oobleck was talking fast even as he seemingly teleported to and fro from his position. It would have scared anyone but to Beacon's staff it was nothing more than part of the everyday life. "A metaphor for good luck? A memento perhaps?" The history professor's brilliant mind raced with questions.

"It is possible." Ozpin nodded to his fellow coffee enthusiast. "Ah looks like he's managed to get into something of a snag."

"That...is quite a pack of Boarbatusks." Glynda commented.

"Indeed, I wonder how he'll get around that." Port nodded. "Perhaps he will surprise us, am I correct Headmaster?"

Ozpin smiled to himself. "It's always a possibility."

/

"Great." Royce grit his teeth like he was chewing a brick as he saw what was in front of him. More of the pig beasts except these were smaller, six in total. He was tempted to try and sneak around them but even with a Stealthboy he was out of luck if he made a sound. That either left grenades or his guns. Using them carried risks.

The Wanderer considered his options when an even bigger bastard appeared out of the woods. "Fuck..." This must have been the mother or the Alpha. He tracked it with his rifle. It will not go down easy, that was for sure. He looked at his Novasurge. It would still take a few shots judging from the size and the armor...

"Sneak or fight...Fuck it." Royce muttered shaking his head. He reached for another grenade...

A howl alerted the boar pack and the big one gave a low squeal as all seven faced right. Royce raised a brow as a pack of bipedal wolves moved towards the boars, with a big burly bastard in the front.

"Interesting..." Royce said as he watched the situation develop. Maybe he could get something out of this. All sorts of beasties lived in the Capital Wasteland. He'd seen them try and kill each other before. He hoped something like that could happen here.

/

"Oh shoot." Ruby looked concerned now. "That is not good, get out of there mister alien!"

"Boarbatusks _and _Beowolves!? He must be really unlucky." Weiss commented. "Why isn't he doing anything!?"

"Because it's not the right time." Blake answered realizing what Royce was waiting for. "He'd get torn to shreds."

"But how is he going to get out of this? I mean sure we took on a Nevermore and a Death Stalker but that was because we had them outnumbered four to one!" Pyrrha's eyes were worried. "He could get killed like this!"

Jaune just kept watching. "Oh man is he doing what I think he's doing?" He said loud enough catching everyone else's' attention.

"Reckless." Port said incredulously. "But...clever at the same time."

Glynda simply shook her head at the reckless action taking place. The screen showed Royce Walker firing a burst of bullets at the Boarbatusk Alpha and actually managing to draw some blood. The Boarbatusks turned to face the human but suddenly had bigger problems to worry about.

The scent caused the hungry Beowolves in turn to go wild. They charged tearing into the Boarbatusks. As the packs battled for the right to exist, almost none of them noticed the green armored human run as fast as possible to the bushes in the opposite end of the newly created battlefield. And beyond those bushes was the objective. One Beowolf took a swipe at the human only to be riddled with bullets for its trouble.

Yang was laughing boisterously. "Hah! That was unexpected! Maybe he ain't so bad after all!" Her grin was wide.

"Clever, I thought he was going to do something else." Pyrrha said nodding. "But he'd better hope they don't come after him."

"I think...I think he knows." Jaune looked up at the screen. "And if he's heading to the same place we were, it's a clearer and wider area. He won't have as much problems in the forest."

"Less places to hide though," Ren frowned.

"Aww come on don't be party-poopers!" Nora told them all cheerfully. "He'll make it back!"

/

Royce found the temple and in it were the relics he was supposed to choose. "Chess?" He said as he looked at the pedestals, all arranged in a circle. Each piece was colored either black or white. "So...am I just supposed to pick one and go? Is there any significance? What?" Royce turned briefly to look at the forest behind him. It was either the wolves or the boars. He was hoping they'd kill each other but knowing how things went for him it could go either way. He was thankful that he had some time...

For now at least.

He looked at the pieces. "Must be some kind of meaning to this. Pawn, nope." He kept looking. There had to be some symbolism here. Ozpin had been real cryptic and had pretty much given him carte blanche on what piece to pick. "Bishop, nope. King? Nah. I'm not exactly a Rook either." He reached for the Queen and thought better of it. "Knights then." He deliberated between the black knight and the white knight...Until the Alpha wolf from earlier crashed through the trees looking like hell.

"Ah fuck!" Royce picked up the white knight chess piece. He then turned and blasted the Alpha with bursts from the Novasurge. Green light flashed and as soon as the bastard was down, more of the wolves appeared. Royce served up a couple of grenades, blowing two straight to hell, three others had to deal with crippled limbs. Blasts from the Novasurge finished off a couple more, and at that point there wasn't much left.

He continued onward.

/

"Hey he picked our team!" Yang certainly looked excited. "Whoo!"

"Great...First I get Ruby as team leader and now we get some worthless, stupid boy as a teammate. Wonderful." Weiss groused, walking off before anyone could stop her.

"She doesn't have to be so mean to Royce." Ruby mumbled. "He hasn't done anything wrong. We just met him."

"Don't worry Ruby," Yang assured her. "It'll just...take some time, 'sides I don't mind having a guy on the team."

"He'll certainly prove to be an interesting fighter that's for sure." Pyrrha remarked.

Jaune just kept his eyes on the screen as Royce finally exited the Emerald Forest.

The students had seen Ozpin slip away to go meet up with the new student. They were told to wait by Glynda Goodwitch as the other professors filed out.

/

As Royce exited the forest he found Ozpin waiting there, leaning on his cane. He was standing in front of what looked like a Vertibird, except instead of using propellers it used hover tech like Mr. Gutsies back in DC.

The Wanderer walked over and presented the chess piece. Ozpin smiled.

"Welcome to Beacon Academy Mister Walker." He shook Royce's hand. "I think it's about time you properly met your classmates."

"Let's do it." Royce said shrugging his shoulders. "I like meeting new people." _Sometimes I have to kill them but hey, that's a different story. _

/

As Ozpin introduced him to the crowd of first year students, Royce stood straight, taking in the myriad crowd of faces. Amusingly he saw Ruby trying to wave before Weiss forced her hand down with a glare. He took the stares with a quiet grace. Yeah he'd seen those stares before, back when he had gone back to Vault 101 to settle things.

_"Stop. You can't call me by that name anymore __**Overseer**__**Almodovar.**__" Royce said calmly as he holstered his revolver. "We're not friends anymore." He turned his back on his former friend and her father and left without another word. _

_He ignored the sound of sobbing in the background. Inwardly he mourned the loss of a friend before steeling himself. As he left the Vault behind once more, it took all of his strength not to look back. The Wastes were waiting for him. _

"Is there anything you'd like to say, Mister Walker?"

Royce cleared his throat as he pushed that memory all the way back in his head. "Hello Beacon, I'm here to stay."

/

With the introductions done and dusted, Royce got directions to the cafeteria so he could get something to eat. Ozpin was going to take care of the paperwork. He already had most of his stuff squared away, seeing that all he had was his guns, his knife, spare clothes and other shit in his pack. Now he had his own pillows, sheets and a school uniform along with a locker. All he had to do was go to the dorms after dinner.

For him to have so much was a pleasant feeling but it didn't get to his head. When he had first left the Vault, he had been crushed by the realization that he had left everything he ever owned. A few months after that and he had no idea what to do with all of the crap he had collected over the span of his travels.

He looked down at the tray of food. He just picked out random stuff off the menu, crammed all of it into a sandwich and went from there.

It was an awesome sandwich, way better than the processed irradiated Pre-War food he had been forced to eat. He took another bite. It was a goddamned awesome sandwich. In his pleasant reverie of finally eating a tasty sandwich he didn't notice Team RWBY and JNPR approach taking their usual seats with him at the end.

"Here's the Hero of the Hour!"

/

Yang clapped Royce Walker on the back as she took a seat next to him. "So!" Her grin was extremely wide. "You're our new teammate!"

"That I am," Royce answered politely. "Food's good. Maybe I did make the right choice of staying." He took another bite out of his sandwich.

"Urgh..." Weiss' struggled not to say anything as Royce devoured another portion of his sandwich.

"Darn good sandwich," Royce said quietly. "Salisbury Steaks can suck it!"

"What?" Jaune asked and Royce looked at him curiously. The boy flinched at the intensity of the other guy's gaze. Yang took notice of Royce's eyes as he seemingly sized up Jaune like he was a threat or something. What he did next was unexpected.

"Haven't seen you before." Royce extended his hand. "Royce Walker."

"Er..." Jaune glanced at Pyrrha who gave an encouraging nod. "Jaune. Jaune Arc." He shook Royce's hand wincing at how strong his grip was.

Royce didn't seem to notice. "Are...all of you in a team?" He asked Jaune. "Cause the Headmaster told me I was supposed to work with team RWBY or some such."

"That's us." Ruby chirped gesturing to Yang, Blake and Weiss. "You'll be working with us, now can you show us your ray gun?" Royce turned to regard her with a raised eye-brow. Ruby blushed. "W-What?"

"Ruby..." Yang shook her head. It was funny how Ruby was so obsessed with weaponry instead of people. Royce was right there!

"Ray gun-oh..." Royce sighed but he did draw the said ray gun and took...something out of it. He then drew them both close to his chest as Ruby nearly flew over the table.

"Oh...cool!" Beside Jaune, Nora also stood up and looked at the pistol. "Do all space aliens have those? Because I want one!" Her eyes were excited and Yang struggled not to laugh as Royce shifted uncomfortably in his seat.

"Nora." Ren spoke and the excitable girl sat down. Yang couldn't see how Ren dealt with Nora but he didn't seem to mind. That and Ren was the most patient person she had ever seen. It was incredible.

"So...the ray gun." Ruby said looking at it, eyes shining with curiosity.

"Plasma." Royce corrected. "It's plasma, not laser. Sure it's slower than molasses but it can hit like a truck. It'll punch through armor at medium range."

"So what about...this one?" Ruby pointed to the Xuanlong.

"Ah this one?" Royce was proud of the Xuanlong. "It is an amazing beast that fires 5.56mm rounds from a thirty-six round clip. It will buzz saw anything in front of its barrel in half."

"Can I see?" Ruby asked eyes shining.

"No." Royce's smile faded.

"Aww..." Ruby looked forlorn.

/

Despite the attention focused solely on him he was surprised to find that he...enjoyed it. It was pleasant feeling. Along with Team RWBY he also met the members of Team JNPR, who were close to the four girls he had met in the forest.

Jaune Arc was a nervous, cowardly wreck but from what Royce could read he was a kind and earnest young man who wanted to prove himself, a worthy cause if any. Next to him was Pyrrha Nikos, a young red haired girl who was more composed. Royce could see that she was head and shoulders above Jaune but did not let her strength get to her head. All in all she was a pleasant person to talk to.

Lie Ren and Nora Valkyrie were opposites in every connotation of the word. While Lie Ren was a mellow, patient personality Nora was a spunky, ray of sunshine who talked constantly. But despite her chatty demeanor he found that he didn't mind at all. Although he did wonder how Ren dealt with her.

She reminded him of Moira Brown, the eccentric store owner in Megaton and one of the two authors of the Wasteland Survival Guide. He never really liked claiming credit for it, it was all Moira's idea anyway. He still had a copy of the book in his pack.

"So, how did you end up in the Emerald Forest Royce?" Pyrrha asked the one question on everyone's minds.

"I'm...not exactly sure." The wanderer turned student answered. "I just...woke up here."

"Ooh! I know what this is!" Nora piped up. "You have amnesia!"

"Nora...Amnesia only happens if Royce can't exactly remember who he is. Which I'm pretty sure he does." Pyrrha admonished. She turned to regard Royce. "You do know who you are right?"

"I do, I do." Royce said taking a swig of water. "Now as to why I am here, I can only tell you that it's a very long story. One that we won't have time for."

"Aww...but I like stories." Nora said disappointed.

"It is kind of getting late Nora," Ren told her. He turned to Royce with a polite smile. "It was nice meeting you."

"Yes likewise." Royce's smile was genuine.

/

Royce had never realized how long it had been since he showered. He felt like a king standing there under the streams of hot water. Washing the grime off of his body, Royce finished taking the shower dried up and started with brushing his teeth with his new toothbrush. He dressed up, walked back into the dorm room.

He opened the door and looked inside. The girls were already asleep except for Blake who was reading a book. She looked up regarded him with a nod and went back to her book. Royce crept in quietly got into his mattress.

"Good night." He told Blake.

"Night," Blake returned.

Royce was asleep long before his head hit the pillow.

/

_The next morning..._

Royce looked himself in the mirror. The uniform consisted of dark colored suits lined with gold with a blue vest and white shirt with red tie. He had never worn anything so fancy before. He kept his cloth wrap over his hair and his Pip Boy over his left forearm. He had stowed all his weapons and armor in his locker and strangely enough he felt...naked. Vulnerable. It made him nervous. Here he was a student when a few months ago he had been spending most of his life fighting for his survival in an apocalyptic wasteland. For him peace was an illusion, a dream. The difference between the DC ruins and Beacon was staggering. It was going to be hard adjusting.

"This is a school." He muttered to himself. "You're not here to kill anything. What do you have to worry about anyway? You've got your fists."

"Um...Royce?" Ruby asked looking for him. "Royce? Hey you ready?"

"Sorry," Royce called back. "It's just been a while since I went to school." He walked over to Ruby who was wearing her uniform. "Well?"

"You look nice!" Ruby complimented him. "Come on, we have history today."

Royce reached into his pack for the Scroll he was given. It was like a Pip Boy in a way, except it showed something called "Aura." Whatever that meant. He assumed it was the green bar on screen with his picture on it. He tucked it back in his backpack and followed Ruby to their first class.

History...Perfect, he could finally get some info on Remnant.

/

"Today we will be beginning lecture on the Faunus War." Bartholomew Oobleck talked real fast and he was literally zipping around his lecture desk. Behind him was a map of Remnant with a bunch of notes stuck to the thing, already making it difficult to see. Thank God for textbooks. The green haired disheveled looking professor noticed Royce. "Ah Mister Walker! Welcome to the class! I am Professor Oobleck."

Royce nodded politely. "It's nice to meet you too professor." He bowed his head.

Royce paid attention as the lecture started on the Faunus, humans who shared some traits with animals. Royce found that he wasn't surprised at all. Dealing with Ghouls and Super Mutants back in DC probably had something to do with it.

As Oobleck continued with the lecture he noted most of the students not listening. Typical with school so Royce paid no heed and took notes. Apparently the Faunus were suffering some negative treatment from humans which resulted in the Faunus Civil Rights Movement. It was the same with Ghouls except they typically get shot for their trouble.

He remembered what Leo had said, the right to exist is a hard-won thing.

Ruby looked over and saw how...intense Royce looked when he listened. When Oobleck mentioned the Faunus War and the subsequent results she saw the young man's eyes narrow but he still took notes. She had never seen someone so intense while taking notes before. She wasn't too interested in this kind of stuff anyway, send her against some Grimm or get her to make a weapon, now that she could do.

/

"Hey Royce-holy moly!" Yang was taken aback at how much notes Royce had taken down. "How much did you write down!?"

"A lot," Royce said as he tucked the overstuffed folder into his backpack. "I mean I gotta keep my grades up." He flapped his wrist. "Man, been a while since I took so much down."

"Wait, how long have you been out of school?" Ruby asked.

"Hmm...I'm nineteen now so...around three years maybe?" Royce answered shrugging his shoulders.

"Three years?" Weiss asked. "What have you been doing with your life?"

"Hey take it easy!" Royce raised his hands. "I took an aptitude test and I was supposed to be a Technician until..." His eyes blanked. "Until..."

"Until what?" Weiss asked impatiently.

"Royce?" Blake put down her book. "Are you alright?"

"It's nothing." Royce answered suddenly shaking his head. "Let's just say that it didn't end well for me. It's hard to talk about."

Yang blinked. She could have sworn she saw a sad smile on his face. "Didn't mean to pry." She said looking sheepish.

"No, you didn't mean anything by it." Royce shook his head. "But..." He didn't know what to say after that.

/

The next class was more physical with Glynda Goodwitch. The professor raised a brow as Royce dodged Cardin Winchester's mace then surged forward, putting all his body weight into a straight punch with Fisto. The poor boy was sent flying, landing in an unconscious heap a good distance away. Had he not been protected by his aura he probably would not be able to function for a while.

In the audience Team RWBY, JNPR, and CRDL watched with jaws dropped. Yang started laughing softly to herself.

Jaune just gaped at Royce and then at the unconscious Cardin Winchester who was spread eagle a few meters away.

"Well, mister Walker." Glynda said as she looked up at the screen. Royce was still in the green, Cardinal was definitely in the red. "I must say that was quite a punch."

The Wanderer scratched the back of his head nervously. Then again that Winchester kid was swinging a club at him with murderous intent.

"Although your insulting his mother was not exactly called for." Royce winced at that, but Cardin started it first by mocking Fisto so he was just getting even.

"Nonetheless you are the clear winner of this match up. And seeing that you were not formally trained in using Aura the outcome is surprising."

"...I didn't mean to punch him so hard." Royce said.

"Perhaps a modicum of restraint would be wiser the next time." Glynda nodded sagely. "Are there any other volunteers?"

Yang raised her hand.

Royce paled

_Oh shit!_

/

"Ow!" Royce winced as Ruby put an ice pack on his cheek. Actually it was more like she shoved the thing into his face a little too hard.

"Sorry Royce." She apologized. "Wow...I've never seen Yang hit you so hard."

"Well, I must say that your sister has one helluva right hook." Royce held his jaw. A few bruises marred his face but they would heal, like all of his wounds did.

"Oh come on!" Yang said from the opposite side of the lunch table. "I didn't hit you that hard!"

"You were pummeling him, Yang." Blake turned a page in her book. "But I have to say Royce, you did pretty good considering the circumstances. Yang's one of the strongest girls I know."

"I've...learned how to deal with pain." Royce said shrugging, he still winced as Ruby applied the ice pack to his face.

"You should have been using your Aura." Weiss commented. "Jeez, don't you know anything!?"

"I don't know what Aura is, not from here remember?" Royce said as he took another bite of his sandwich.

"Ugh...How can you eat so much?" Weiss complained. "That sandwich is the size of your head!"

"I take offense to that one," Royce said swallowing his food. He looked quite offended. "My head is not the size of this sandwich."

Yang and Ruby giggled. Weiss scowled.

"What? No sense of humor?" Royce looked at Weiss with a raised eye brow. "An old friend of mine says you get wrinkles earlier being like that."

"Don't mind Weiss, Royce. She may act like this all the time but she's a decent person." Ruby said. "Anyway Royce, how do you not know about Aura? It's part of your soul!"

"So...anyone can use it?" Royce asked.

"With a decent amount of training, yeah." Yang said.

"Huh. Never did know that my soul was that strong." Royce said. "So...how _do _I use it?"

"Uh..." Ruby looked at Yang who shrugged.

"This is going to take a while isn't it?" Royce asked again.


	3. Upgrades, bullies and other things

Chapter 3

Upgrades, Bullies and Other Things

_"Survival. No matter the cost."- Royce Walker, Opening pages to the Wasteland Survivor Guide. _

"I have to what?" Royce blinked at the Weapons Expert of Beacon Academy, Bierce Colt who had requested his presence after classes had ended for the day. Bierce was a tough looking old veteran who had a knack for fixing weaponry. He used to be a Hunter until a Grimm took his leg off at the knee. The Ursa Major's head was mounted on a wall over his desk. Because of the unwanted amputation, Bierce had a fierce hatred for anything Grimm. The ones he hated the most were the Ursa.

"You need upgrades kid, I was watching your fight in the Emerald Forest. You've got good guns, I'm sure I can make 'em better." Bierce told him as they looked over the Xuanlong, the scoped revolver that Royce called the Blackhawk. "Except for that plasma weapon of yours."

Royce scratched the back of his head. As far as he knew they had paper money and he didn't have much of that. "...How much is it going to cost?" He asked the weapons expert.

"Cost ya? Nah...it's all paid for by the school. It's famous enough that the governments of the other kingdoms pay for it." Bierce said grinning. "So...what do you say?"

"Why not?" Royce said shrugging his shoulders.

/

In the end Bierce didn't go crazy on the Xuanlong and Blackhawk. He kept it simple, just like how Royce liked it. He updated the barrels, the firing mechanism and the frames on the weapons to make it more suitable for fighting in Remnant. Royce was happy with that, he wouldn't have to scavenge much for bullets anymore.

The Xuanlong in particular was a lot cleaner and thanks to the advanced technology at Colt's command, lighter with a better folding stock that would help with recoil. The weapon was still chambered for 5.56mm rounds but Royce now had the option to use Dust Rounds which could "kill everything that stood in front of the barrel" as Bierce had told him.

The Blackhawk was the same way and had a better scope attached, with its updated frame the weapon was now a lot more effective at medium-long ranges. The Dust Rounds surprisingly enough came from a manufacturer, Schnee Dust Company, which made anything from toothpaste to high powered firearms used all over Remnant.

Schnee, that was Weiss' last name wasn't it? He made a note to ask her about the company.

Royce loaded a clip of one of the Dust rounds in the chamber and sighted up on a target. Bierce was supervising. The Lone Wanderer squeezed out a three round burst at the target's head. The Ursa shaped target burst into flames. He hit the button on his left side and fired off another burst at the targets that appeared.

He tried out the Blackhawk, and was satisfied with the improved killing power. In particular he was digging the High Explosive Dust Rounds which would be great for taking out anything armored. Sure the Novasurge could kill almost everything but he had more options now. He liked the variety of tools he had at his disposition.

"Nice." Royce said as he hit the magazine release and took out the round in the chamber. "Real nice. Thanks Mister Colt."

Colt beamed at the praise. "You can get more ammo here if you need some." He told Royce.

"Oh yeah what are you gonna call them kid?" Colt asked.

Royce simply told him that he'd keep the names his guns were given.

/

Royce closed the door to Colt's office and walked back to the Academy. It was a crisp morning with a slight breeze. He scratched his head as he walked over to the locker room to put away his weapons. As he walked he saw two of CRDL waiting for him. One was a dude with a blue Mohawk, the other had brown hair. They stepped forward to stop him. They forgot Royce had the Xuanlong in hand.

They realized he was heavily armed and paled as they looked at the massive rifle in the other student's hands. Royce simply gestured to the side with the Xuanlong's barrel and they both stepped out of his way. He glared at them both coldly before entering the locker room. He heard what sounded like a nervous Jaune and a laughing Winchester before hearing the unmistakable sound of a fist hitting a face. Royce quietly put away his weapons then slipped the Trench Knife out from the hidden makeshift sheath on his back. He moved like a ghost and as he moved around some lockers what he saw confirmed his suspicions.

His eyes held nothing in them as he snuck up on Cardin without a sound.

/

Jaune readied himself for another punch from Cardin Winchester when the taller boy stopped. Jaune gulped when he saw the six inch steel blade right next to Cardin's neck and who was holding it. He started shaking in fear when he saw the emotionless mask that was Royce's face. His hazel eyes were blank, frosty. Gone was the seemingly listless but polite new student. What was there instead was a quiet, ruthless young man who had done more than his fair share of killing.

"There are several ways to kill a human being. I can go for your trachea right now. Or I could stab you in the kidneys and while you are writhing in your agony I could finish you by crushing your skull with my boot." Royce told Cardin as though he was stating a fact from a school textbook and not threatening to kill him. Jaune paled when he realized Royce was pretty good with a knife. Good enough to know where he can cause the most damage to something. Or someone. "So...Winchester. Before you hit my buddy Jaune there, I have to ask. Do you want to live? Or do you want to die?"

"What-What do you think you're doing? AH!" Cardin asked his hands raised. He yelped as the blade touched his skin. He was terrified.

"I'm asking _you_ the same thing." Royce answered coldly. "Don't bother threatening me, they won't find you by the time I'm finished."

"Royce...uh..." Jaune said nervously laughing. "We-We were just talking you know. It was just uh...a little chat between two buddies right Cardin?" The look on Cardin's face said otherwise.

"Talking." Royce stated quietly. "With what? Your fist against his face, Winchester? That does not seem to entail talking."

Winchester didn't move or speak. Royce lowered the knife.

"Get out of here before I get creative." Royce said gesturing with his knife.

Cardin fled the locker room. Royce turned to Jaune and helped the other boy up. "You okay?" he asked instantly changing to the normal Royce like flipping a switch.

"Uh yeah!" Jaune said with false cheer. "Yeah I'm fine..." He sniffed. "Yep I am totally fine. I-I'll see you at lunch."

He was out before Royce could say anything else. The Lone Wanderer watched him go, then sheathed his knife. There was something up with Jaune Arc and whatever it was he wondered why that bastard Cardin was involved.

_"Aww you gonna cry?" _

Royce's fist clenched. While he was on better terms with Butch Deloria he never forgave him. It was a sad fact of his life that he forgot how to forgive someone. Butch was just one of the lucky ones. The Lone Wanderer shook his head of the memories. What was done, was done. There was no point in reminiscing on the past.

That way lay madness. And pain.

/

Lunch was a crowded affair as usual. He took his seat next to Yang who was looking at Nora as she told them all about a dream she had. Something about Ursa (Beowolves, Ren had corrected) and more about making a boatload of money. How Ren knew the contents of Nora's dreams well enough to correct them was beyond the Lone Wanderer. Yang looked enthralled, Ruby and Pyrrha were worried about a depressed Jaune. Blake was reading her book and Weiss was busy with her nails. Royce took a bite out of his massive sandwich. Again Weiss looked disgusted while Blake had a ghost of a smile on her face.

So his sandwich was overstuffed, Royce mused. He liked eating. Good food was hard to come by in the wasteland, even if Rivet City's science team was doing its best to improve that situation. That and starving was not a desirable option so it was either eat irradiated food or die. Yeah, like he was going to give up this awesome sandwich for some Salisbury Steak, screw that. He'd rather try and pet a Deathclaw.

"So...Apart from Nora's rambling, anything else interesting happen?" Royce asked politely.

"Apart from Winchester staring at you for the last few minutes, nah not really." Yang shrugged. The Lone Wanderer looked over her shoulder at another table. Winchester was glaring at him and Jaune. Royce simply stared back as his face turned into an impassive mask, it was his eyes that made Winchester flinch. There was...nothing in them but a promise to do lethal bodily harm. A simple expression of hate. Everyone cringed as the air seemed to chill. Winchester looked away. Even Nora's never fading smile faltered slightly.

Royce went back to his sandwich. The air returned to normal. And all was good, Royce got to devour his oversized Ham, Turkey, Roast Beef sandwich and Winchester had to leave the dining hall because of a growing stain in his pants. Luckily enough for him no one noticed, not even the bunny eared girl that he knocked over. Everyone stared at him, and then at Royce.

The wanderer took another bite out of his sandwich.

"Jaune, if you do need help, don't hesitate to ask any of us." Pyrrha told the sullen blonde boy after the long awkward pause. "I know Cardin has been bullying you."

"Oh come on guys it's not that." Jaune was all denial even as he stole nervous glances at the still eating Royce.

"Yeah don't worry Jaune!" Nora chirped helpfully. "We'll break his legs!"

"Um Nora I think that's not a good idea." Ren said gently restraining Nora from doing anything else. "We could get expelled for that." He could almost hear Nora's pout.

Royce on the other hand absolutely liked the idea but decided to keep it to himself. He instead focused on Jaune who got up and left. Pyrrha watched him go. "Want me to talk to him?" He asked her.

"Excuse me?" Pyrrha asked.

"Jaune. You want me to talk with him?" Royce looked at her seriously. "He's pretty down in the dumps, and we've got PT today."

"Yes, please." Pyrrha looked understandably upset. Jaune was her friend after all. And he was the team leader.

/

In the end the only time he actually managed to do that was after Glynda Goodwitch's class. Poor guy looked terrible, beaten and withdrawn. After warding off Cardin and his goons with a malicious look Royce approached Jaune. He could feel Cardin glaring. The wanderer let him do it. One day Cardin Winchester was going to find out what a knife in between the ribs felt like.

"Fine day today," He told Jaune.

"Yeah...Yeah it is." Jaune answered faintly. "...I know Pyrrha wants you to talk to me."

"I can listen if you want." Royce said without missing a beat. "That's what friends do right?"

"Look, I'm fine okay?" Jaune was suddenly sounding quite angry. "I can take care of myself. I don't need you or Pyrrha looking over my shoulder all the time. It's..."

"Embarrassing?" Royce supplied for him. "It doesn't matter if someone's worried about you, they're going to look over your shoulder." He stood up to leave. "You've got friends, so don't take them for granted. Because one day you'll lose them and then you'll give everything to have them back again. It's...a bitter thing losing friends. They want to help you Jaune and it makes them feel bad when you push them away." Jaune knew who he was talking about.

Jaune watched his back. "Did...Did you lose yours?" He asked unsure, he didn't want to pry into the taller boy's past. One because Royce's knife looked extremely sharp and he didn't want to know how sharp it was and two...well, it didn't seem right to ask him about it.

"We parted on bad terms." Royce answered simply. "Apparently it was my fault."

/

Weiss Schnee was known for a lot of things. She was the heiress of the Schnee Dust Company after all, she was also a skilled swordsman and almost no one could ever avoid the speedy, graceful style she cultivated.

Right now however she was quite concerned with how Royce Walker was quietly enduring everything she threw at him. The Lone Wanderer was slower sure but one single punch from him could take down anyone except Yang who was known not only for her strength but her endurance. In fact apart from Pyrrha or Blake, Yang was the only one who could hold their own against Royce. And win.

Royce stepped forward and threw a single quick punch which Weiss ducked under. With a flourish her rapier went for his chest, a move that was pushed aside by his off hand. Royce then shoved her back with a body blow then rushed forward with his massive gauntlet raised for a strike. The movement was sudden Weiss conjured up a Glyph that barely kept her from being thrown off her feet as Royce's fist met the barrier. Sliding a few feet back Weiss flourished her rapier as Royce tightened his stance.

Good, at least he was taking this seriously. Weiss disliked a lot of things, listlessness was one of them.

"You got her on her heels, Royce! Get her!" Yang was cheering from the sidelines.

"Weiss! You can do it! Don't give up!" Ruby was also cheering and despite himself Royce gave an amused smile as he surged forward, fists up. Weiss met his charge with an equal fervor and raised her rapier without hesitation. Royce jumped forward, sending his fist at Weiss as she prepared to parry the blow with her rapier.

It worked somewhat, Weiss still got punched in the face. But she got Royce back by kicking him in between the legs.

"Ooh!"

Every male in the crowd winced in sympathy. To his credit Royce didn't scream in pain or do anything embarrassing. He was still on the floor though, shaking.

The fight ended abruptly in a draw. On a technicality Royce lost due to the debilitating strike. Glynda Goodwitch lectured the both of them about watching their auras. She was especially stern on Weiss. But it was all in good fun...sort of, except for the unwarranted groin attack.

"Good job Weiss!" Ruby clapped the taller girl on the back when class ended for the day. Glynda had scolded Weiss on using such a cheap hit but Royce actually didn't mind. If he was in her position he probably would have done the same thing. "Although...That looked like it hurt." Weiss had a black eye, she made Royce pay for it though, she smugly looked down at a curled up Royce.

"Well, it was his fault." Weiss said simply. "How dare he raise a hand against me."

"You didn't have to kick me so hard." Royce told her, raising his head and groaning in pain. "Besides I almost had you...until you kicked me in the gonads."

"Right," Weiss said sarcastically. "You _almost _had me. Still, you did your best. I will concede to that."

Royce gave a sardonic laugh. "Yeah...Nice footwork by the way." He complimented Weiss. Despite herself Weiss beamed at the praise. She then quickly scowled.

"Don't think this raises my opinion of you!" She said stubbornly.

"Right..."

/

_The next few days later..._

"Pyrrha!"

Pyrrha turned around to see Royce approaching from the side. "Good morning Royce." She greeted him politely. When Royce caught up the pair headed towards the locker room. There was a field trip going on today, they were headed into the Forever Fall to go grab some syrup. Why a teacher needed syrup, Royce didn't know. But hey a grade was a grade. Even if the assignment didn't make sense at all.

"Morning to you as well," Royce returned with equal politeness. "...Jaune's been avoiding you hasn't he?"

"Yes, I'm sure our fearless leader knows what he's doing." Pyrrha scowled. "He..." She sighed. "I do not get it Royce, he has so...much potential? How can he be so...so..."

"Spineless?" Royce offered.

"Yes! Spineless!" Pyrrha shook her red hair.

"I used to be the same way." Royce said as the pair walked to the lockers.

"You?" Pyrrha looked so shocked. To her Royce seemed to be a confident, if a stand offish young man.

"Yep, me. Royce Walker. The shy bookworm." Royce chuckled at Pyrrha's unbelieving look on her face. "Now look at me." His smile turned cold. Pyrrha had never seen someone so unhappy before. "I give someone a mean look he pisses himself in public. Never really wanted to learn how to fight you know?"

"What did you want to be when you were a child?" Pyrrha asked.

"A doctor." Royce admitted. "I never did like fighting, it seems so...pointless. I wanted to help people. Like my father did."

"I...see." Pyrrha nodded. "What was he like? Your father?"

"A good man." Royce said with a sense of pride. "If I were a fourth of the man he was, I'd have tread the same path. He's gone now." He shook his head ruefully. "It's a damn shame, really."

"I'm sorry for your loss." Pyrrha said sympathetically.

/

When everyone was armed up and ready to go Glynda Goodwitch led the class deeper into the woods. Royce was struck by how...red it was. Every leaf on every tree was a bright crimson. It made him feel...uneasy. He clutched his upgraded Xuanlong tightly as his head swiveled to watch for any threats. Ruby tugged on his sleeve and gave him a reassuring smile. Royce tried to smile back but for some reason he really did not like the Forever Fall.

It was much like the forests of Point Lookout. Except without the red leaves. And the inbred, mutated psychopaths trying to kill him.

"Professor Peach has asked all of you to collect samples from the trees inside this forest." Glynda's instructions were clear. "I am here to make sure that none of you are harmed by the Grimm. Collect one sample of red syrup." She held up the jar of red stuff for emphasis. "We will rendezvous at this location at four o' clock. Have fun!"

Jaune tried escaping from Cardin but the bully had dragged him off much to the disappointment of Pyrrha. Royce just kept an eye on him before heading off with Team RWBY to get the syrup. How this was fun in any way escaped Royce. They were stuck in Grimm territory looking for syrup.

"So," He said as he crouched down in front of the tree to find the red syrup dripping out of the bark. "Why exactly is this crap important?"

"I hear that it's quite popular for researchers to study." Weiss answered. Royce picked at the tree bark with his trench knife to get a larger flow going then put up the jar Weiss handed him. They filled it up in a few minutes and Royce took a whiff.

"Hoo, yeah that's popular alright." He commented. It had a good, sweet, attractive smell.

"Don't spill any on yourself." Blake warned him. "This stuff can attract Rapier Wasps. Or worse, the Grimm." Royce...didn't want to find out what Rapier Wasps were so he was careful in sealing the jar of syrup.

"It's great on pancakes!" Nora said suddenly, her mouth was stained with the same syrup in the jar.

"Nora!" Ren exclaimed annoyed, looking at the now empty jar she was holding. It wasn't the only one there were several. Nora had gone around chugging each one without anyone noticing. The fact that she did this so fast undetected was scary.

"What the- oh Nora..." Pyrrha looked at the empty bottle in her hand. "Wait...I was holding this, how did you..."

Royce and Weiss could only stare in complete confusion. Royce then decided to hide the jars of syrup for Team RWBY. If Nora got her hands on this it was probably going to be a lot worse than getting an F on the assignment. She was already close to a sugar high considering how she was even more jittery than usual.

/

"They seem to be having fun." Yang commented balancing a jar of syrup over her head. It had been an exciting few weeks since Royce had popped into Team RWBY's life. He may have been a big, gentle lug but Royce was alright. He was two years older sure but he fit right in.

"Yeah," Ruby said glancing at Royce's back for longer than she should.

Yang grinned. "Aww...Is little Ruby crushing on the big guy?" She teased her little sister.

Ruby had reddened almost as much as her clothes. "N-No! No! No!" She shook her head in denial.

"Just kidding! Just kidding!" Yang laughed. "Although looking back now, he is kinda cute Ruby."

"I'm not crushing on him!"

"Sure~" Yang drawled. But thinking about it right now...Royce was definitely on the right side of cute.

The mood soured, when members of team CRDL rushed past her.

"Hey!" Yang caught the syrup jar in one hand while she grabbed Russel Thrush by the collar. "What's going on!?"

"G-Grimm! Th-They're being attacked by Grimm!"

"Ah crap!" Yang muttered letting Russel go. "Ruby!" Ruby was already on the move.

"Go get Professor Goodwitch! I'll be fine!"

Yang hesitated but knew Ruby could take care of herself. Not wanting to waste time Yang was off.

/

"Royce!"

The Lone Wanderer didn't hesitate and followed Ruby, Weiss and Pyrrha to where Cardinal's goons had run off. He chambered a round into the Xuanlong and heard the loud roar of what sounded like a really big Ursa.

"That's a big one." Royce sped up. As they approached the area where the roar came from they found a dire situation. Royce crouched and took aim but there was a risk. The Ursa had Cardin in its sights. Just as Royce was about to spring into action Jaune stepped in.

They realized that the boy was terrified but he just blocked the Ursa's swipe with Crocea Mors. He was doing surprisingly well. Before the Ursa knocked him down. Royce moved to step in Pyrrha stopped him. He looked her in the eye confused. This was one of the things he hated. Helping people in danger was almost a reflex for him. Telling Royce to stop helping someone was like telling a hurricane to stop moving.

But there was something in Pyrrha's stare that told him to trust her, so he stepped back and watched the fight. Jaune moved forward to face the Ursa again and as he jumped at it, Pyrrha moved her hand slightly. At the same time Jaune blocked with his shield. Weiss noticed the motion.

"Did you just..." Weiss started but Pyrrha shushed her with a motion of her hand.

Jaune had shifted his strategy. He may not be as skilled as most of the students at Beacon but Jaune was sharp, a quick thinker the only thing that stood in his way was a crippling lack of self-esteem. He feinted left then right as the Ursa tried to take him down. With a flash Jaune severed the Ursa's left arm with a sweeping blow then with a war cry he swung his sword upwards as the Ursa stumbled forward in pain.

Its head rolled away as its carcass fell like a sack of bricks.

Cardin stood up. There was a look on his face that Royce recognized, respect. Jaune sheathed his weapon then walked over to Cardin. "You," He said quietly, almost angrily at the taller boy. "You stay the hell away from my team-my **friends-**because if you lay a hand on them...You'll regret it."

He then walked towards Pyrrha and the others. Royce clapped the kid on the back with a cheerful grin, his superior strength causing Jaune to stumble slightly. Sheepish Jaune looked over at Pyrrha who gave a graceful smile in return. Ignoring the completely shamed Cardin the ribbing started.

"Jaune! That was so cool!" Ruby exclaimed. Beside her Weiss nodded in agreement.

"I have to agree with Ruby, you did well." She complimented him.

"Oh God," Jaune looked terrified. "I-I can't b-believe I-I did that!" He waved back at the forest clearing.

"Yeah well, you wanted to be badass didn't you?" Royce asked him still grinning. "I'm pretty sure chopping an Ursa's head off counts as pretty badass." Jaune tried to keep the embarrassed smile off of his face.

"Good job, Jaune. I knew you could do it." Pyrrha said with a smile.

Needless to say after that little incursion into Forever Fall, Jaune was doing a lot better off.

/

"Ugh...How can you stuff so much between two pieces of bread!?" Weiss complained as she watched Royce sit down next to Yang with yet another oversized sandwich.

"Metabolism." Royce answered simply. "That and a man's got to eat." And with that he began to chow down on the sandwich. Weiss looked rather put off.

"Aw come on Princess, can't you see the guy's hungry?" Yang drawled. "Let him eat what he wants."

"Don't call me that!" Weiss complained.

"Why?" Royce commented suddenly. "I mean...you are quite pretty." His offhand remark caused quite a few people to glance at him.

Weiss's face was beet red. Ruby looked a little upset but she couldn't tell. "W-W-What do you mean by that?" While Weiss surely liked the attention due to her name and status, she was certainly not used to such remarks about her appearance. She had heard such words before but it was mostly from other rich boys. Royce was definitely not one of those people. He was a vagabond of the lower class.

So why did she blush when Royce called her pretty?

Royce blinked. "Did I...offend you?" He asked. He hoped he didn't, he meant no offense.

"N-No!" Weiss shouted at him causing the wanderer to flinch.

"I think he likes you princess!" Yang laughed.

Weiss abruptly left the Dining Hall. Royce stood up. "Ah fuck..." He muttered under his breath. "I really should..." He swore explosively. "Damnit! Wait Weiss!" He ran after her, vaulting over one of the tables, surprising a couple of girls.

The rest of team RWBY and Team JNPR looked on in shock.

"Wow." Yang said chuckling nervously. "Never seen Weiss so worked up before."

"Will the both of them be alright?" Pyrrha looked concerned.

"Hopefully..." Jaune shook his head.

_**/**_

**Well, never expected to be so busy after finals. I did pass all of them with flying colors if you were wondering.**

**Anyway. Sorry for taking so long. Had to go see some relatives. **


	4. Maybe

Chapter 4

Maybe

_"You are destined for great things, Mister Walker. Your father said so when I first met him many years ago." Elder Owyn Lyons, Leader of the Capital Wastelands Brotherhood of Steel Chapter. _

Royce eventually did find Weiss outside in the gardens. Panting the Lone Wanderer caught his breath as the Schnee heiress turned to him in surprise. Royce wanted to say something but sucked in another deep breath. It was a bit chilly outside but Royce was more than used to it. It was a lot colder at night back in DC, thanks to the nuclear fallout.

"What!?" Weiss said annoyed.

"W-Hold...on..." Royce raised a hand while catching his breath. After a few more breaths he said. "You run real fast."

"That wasn't why you ran after me is it?" Weiss asked him. "Look, you don't have to say sorry." Royce blinked.

"...Huh?" Royce was ready to. It was probably his fault Weis ran off in the first place. He had never seen her look so troubled before. In class she was usually the one who answered everything confidently. She was a little too smug for her own good but she did try to be a lot more friendly with other folks except for him but he tried to take it in stride.

"It's just..." She looked uncomfortable. "I...I'm not really used to people calling me pretty and meaning it." Royce didn't know how Weiss could look so nervous about something and yet look so appealing at the same time. Then again she always did make sure she looked her best every day.

"Ah, well. In any case I should still apologize." Royce said scratching the back of his head nervously. "I didn't mean to offend you or cause any awkwardness. I just...well, I really did mean the compliment." _Jesus no wonder I'm single. _

"W-Well...Thank you." Weiss said graciously. Royce let out a breath that he had been holding.

"So...I think we should head back." Royce suggested. "It is kind of cold out here."

"Right," Weiss agreed. "It is a bit chilly."

/

The next morning was...unpleasant. Sure Royce knew what rain was but he had yet to see it. Judging from the clouds though it looked like it was going to be a particularly nasty storm coming in. But despite the storm coming in it wasn't the rain he was dreading.

It was the gossip because ever since Weiss and Royce entered the dorm together after a stroll, Ruby and Yang bombarded them both with questions. Royce simply endured quietly while Weiss argued with both sisters. Blake didn't say anything but the looks she gave them both were piercing. She wasn't mad or anything but merely...curious.

"So lover boy." Yang elbowed Royce in the side. "I heard you and Weiss had a little midnight stroll out in the grounds." Her grin was cheeky.

"We just talked." Royce answered looking embarrassed. "And it wasn't even midnight!"

"Sure, sure." Yang's grin was mischievous. Royce rolled his eyes.

"Come on, I was the one in the wrong anyway." He told her. "I never meant to make things so awkward with Weiss."

"Well, you're lucky." Yang said. "Because if you were here when school first started...Hoo boy, she would have been a lot worse."

"I'm sure she was...Ah hell, I don't like the look of those clouds." Royce looked at the gathering storm grey clouds. "We'd better head back inside."

"Pshaw, I'm sure we'll make it." Yang said confidently. "It won't be that bad." Royce shrugged with her assessment of the weather.

Well, to be fair, they _did _make it to class. The problem was a section of the school was powered down due to thunderstorms. So they had to stay for a long while in the dining hall while the technicians got to work on restoring power.

"Professor Port's lessons are...argh!" Weiss complained again as she dropped her books on the table. "All he does is monologue! I learned more about the Grimm from the posters on his chalkboard than from any of his stupid stories!" She slammed down her books again creating a small shockwave across the table. Royce blinked in mild surprise as he put a line of ink down the side of his paper before shrugging and continued to work on the rough draft of the essay that Port assigned them all.

"Wait...you're actually doing Professor Poop's essay?" Ruby looked over Royce's shoulders in curiosity. Royce was already working on his rough draft.

"Yeah," Royce said trying not to chuckle at Ruby's nickname for the old professor with an impressive moustache. "I mean sure he monologues a lot but I have learned quite a bit from him you know?"

"True," Blake commented. "You always stay for a bit after his class." She gestured to the large book next to Royce's pack. _Grimm Anatomy and Physiology, 5th Edition _it said on the spine. "That and I swear I've seen you read that beast twice."

Royce chuckled. "I've flipped through it once or twice Blake, I'm not that crazy to read through the whole thing."

"You probably could." Yang dared him.

"I'd rather not." Royce said as he continued writing. That was when Ruby's scroll beeped and she took it out. Her brow furrowed.

"Hey guys?" She said and her teammates looked to her. "I think Professor Ozpin wants to see us."

"What for?" Weiss asked curiously.

"Didn't say..." Ruby answered showing them all the message. "Other than we have to go right now."

"Well, that's ominous." Royce commented as he stood up and slung his backpack over his shoulder. "Wonder what's going on."

/

"A few hours ago the Chief of the Vale Police Department has contacted me with a request to find two missing persons in the Forever Fall. They were last seen entering the hiking trail and have not been seen since the end of school today." Ozpin told all the members of Team RWBY. The scroll on his desk showed a picture of a young couple who had apparently gone hiking and managed to get themselves lost. "Your task is to find them and bring them back to Beacon, however should there be...difficulties I am permitting you to use force if necessary."

Ozpin looked at all five of them with a calm air. "Any questions?"

Royce raised his hand. "And if we find that they're dead?" he asked seriously. Ruby turned to him shocked that he could ask such a thing. Weiss and Yang were also in the same state while Blake just gave him a cautious glance. Ozpin blinked but the seriousness of the question was apparent to him. Again Royce Walker was a surprising student.

"I certainly hope they aren't deceased but if you are unfortunate in that regard, please contact me immediately. I shall arrange for Vale's police forces to recover the corpses." Ozpin answered gravely. "Good luck and may your endeavors end successfully Team RWBY."

/

"Royce! How could you say such a thing!" Ruby scolded the taller young man as he slung his rifle over his shoulder. "They're not dead yet!"

"They might be," Royce said as he checked the Blackhawk's cylinder. Satisfied that all six chambers were filled with High Explosive Rounds he holstered the revolver. "But all the same I hope we find them alive. I'm just...considering the option is all."

"I hate to say it but he's right." Weiss said with a grimace. "We're going to have to be prepared for something like that Ruby."

"Don't worry, I'm sure everything will be fine Ruby!" Yang tried to assure her sister then looked at Royce. The Lone Wanderer shrugged but he understood why Yang was kind of upset with him back at the office. She loved her little sister, Royce knew that. But someday Ruby was going to have to look out for herself and learn that the world wasn't always fair.

/

They left just as the storm ended. It was going to be quite a long night. Royce took point, his Pip-Boy light shining the way. They had three hours of searching and it was best not to waste it by getting sidetracked.

If the Forever Fall was creepy during the day, then it was even more creepier during the night. The moon's light made everything look eerie. The leaves shone a pale red and the only sounds seemed to be the hoot of an owl. Royce hated the place. Every shadow seemed to move it was like being back in Point Lookout, where walking around in the dark was asking to get killed. The Grimm weren't going to be as active at night though...apart from Deathstalker scorpions. Great, giant scorpions in the dark while looking for two hikers lost in the woods. This sounded like an awesome assignment.

Royce shook his head of such things when Blake tapped his shoulder. "Are you alright?"

"Just...apprehensive." Royce said as they kept going. "I hate this place." His voice was angry and underneath that anger was fear. Blake was surprised. Royce didn't seem the type to admit his fear easily.

"You're afraid of the dark?" She asked.

"This place brings back a lot of bad memories." Royce answered grimly. "Memories of a place that I really don't like."

"What was it like?" Blake pressed.

"You don't go out at night." Royce started panning the area with his assault rifle. "You don't underestimate Point Lookout. That place is evil." There was a certainty in his tone that Blake didn't like so she kept silent. Point Lookout...even the name sounded disturbing.

That was when she saw something glow briefly in the bushes.

"Stop." She drew Gambol Shroud and held it to the side as Royce immediately crouched, chambered a round and aimed the Xuanlong at whatever she had seen. Everyone tensed up. Ruby unfolded Crescent Rose as she took a shot at whatever it was. The shot echoed through the forest making everyone tense up even more as they each looked around for any sign of the Grimm coming for them. Somehow there was no sign of any of them coming at them. Royce decided to pin that on his luck although he didn't push it.

"Ruby!" Weiss exclaimed as Royce swore up and down under his breath. Yang walked over and brought out a backpack. It was covered in mud. And there was a large hole where a round from Crescent Rose punched right through it.

"Sorry..." Ruby scratched the back of her head looking sheepish.

"Well, we found something." Yang commented. "Can we not panic because if we find these two they're going to be pretty angry that we put a hole in it." She shouldered the pack.

"Don't panic next time Ruby, jeez." Weiss grumbled as she continued forward. "You might-" She gave a screech as she tripped over something and splashed into the mud. Royce hauled her up, wincing as Weiss began a tirade of cursing Ozpin, the roots of the tree and mud in general. She had mud all over the front of her outfit. The Lone Wanderer winced, yeah that is going to take a while to clean up.

Royce sighed as he looked back at the tree. "Guys..." He said softly. "We might be here a lot longer."

The tree's bark had some bloodstains on it. That was worrying. Royce checked them, dry. Whatever happened here must have occurred a few hours ago.

"That's not good." Yang muttered looking concerned as she held Ruby to her side, she looked pale. "Ruby? You think we should keep going?"

"Y-Yeah." Ruby cleared her head. She was better than this, she was going to be a Huntress for Pete's sake. "Yeah, we should. Professor Ozpin's counting on us right? Royce, you see where it leads? We're headed for the hiking path."

Royce checked the bloodstains to see if they were headed anywhere. He had a hunch and decided to act on it. You can never go wrong with gut instinct and in the Wasteland it was good to listen to. "This way." He gestured to the north-west. He took point again. Team RWBY headed towards the north western direction and sure enough found the hiking path. The couple had gone missing around here but it was going to be a difficult search thanks to the rain from the earlier storm.

"Right, hiking trail." Ruby said as she looked to the left and to the right. "Any ideas guys?"

"Let's keep looking." Blake suggested. They searched the general area before following the trail. There was nothing yet and apart from the owls hooting the forest of Forever Fall seemed quiet. Royce kept his head on a swivel as he looked for any sign of hikers.

He stopped, raised his fist and crouched. "Contact!" he said as he took aim.

The young man walking towards them looked pale, his white shirt stained with blood. He looked at team RWBY. "Who are you guys?" His eyes were blank and empty. The man looked terrible. Royce slung his rifle and helped the guy sit down. He consulted his scroll briefly and saw the resemblance of the guy on the picture. Yep this was one of the hikers. So where was the other one? Tucking his scroll back into his rucksack he continued checking for injuries and found that the guy had huge gashes in his side and was the source of the bleeding. Royce began doing some first aid. Thanks to dear old Dad he could do decent first aid and had studied that exclusively ever since he left the Vault. It was kind of funny how he could kill just as easily as he could heal.

"Easy there sir," Ruby said gently. "We're hunters, we're here to help."

"My...My girlfriend, Angie...I-I don't..." The man's voice was blank, and he seemed to have a hard time breathing. "She...She got..." Tears started to fall. "She's...dead...T-There was nothing I c-could do. The...The Grimm got to her..."

"It's going to be okay sir, come on." Ruby contacted Ozpin on the scroll.

/

They walked back down to the beginning of the path where police cruisers and an ambulance was waiting for them. They left the hiker to the EMTs' care. Royce checked the time and saw that it was kind of late, almost midnight in fact. He was a bit tired. He walked over to the rest of Team RWBY and sat down next to Ruby who looked a little depressed.

"Cheer up Ruby," Yang said gently. "We still saved one person."

"We should have saved both of them." Ruby mumbled. "Why couldn't we? Aren't we supposed to be better than this?"

"Ruby," Royce said firmly. "You can't save everyone. But the one thing that matters is that you tried. Sometimes...Our best isn't enough. We're not superhuman, no matter how much we wish to be. Don't beat yourself up so much."

"Royce is right Ruby." Blake walked over to give Ruby a quick hug.

"Excuse me, you're all from beacon aren't you?" A police officer had walked over. He was a middle aged man with dark brown hair and red eyes. "Sorry, I'm Sergeant Tennstedt of the VPD."

"We're Team RWBY of Beacon. How may we help you officer?" Weiss asked politely.

"Right, well. I just want to thank you for the help." Sergeant Tennstedt said gratefully. He looked back at the ambulance and sighed. "Truth be told...this is the seventh case that has happened over the past few months. Hikers going into Forever Fall tend to well, disappear. I just want the headmaster to know that the Grimm might be involved."

"Roger, we'll tell him." Ruby said and turned to her team. "Think we can head back to the academy now? The airship should be waiting for us."

"Can we?" Weiss looked at the mud stains on her once pristine white outfit. "I want to get out of these clothes."

/

_The next day..._

Royce covered his mouth as he yawned. Breakfast consisted of a biscuit, pancakes and several strips of bacon. As he took his usual place beside Yang, he then saw that Nora had once again stacked pancakes a mile high and proceeded to devour the fucking things at light speed. Ren was watching her in case she started choking. Royce shook his head before turning to his own breakfast.

"Nora...I think you should slow down on the pancakes..." Jaune said. All he got was something that sounded like _om nom nom _from Nora. "Uh...Nora?"

"Don't bother Jaune." Royce told him. "She's in the Zone." He managed to get a chuckle from Ren.

"I really still do not understand how she eats so fast." Pyrrha watched with fascination.

"It's normal." Ren assured them all then went back to his own breakfast.

Royce finished his biscuit then failed to keep the yawn in. He covered his mouth as Ruby started giggling.

"So did you guys find who you were looking for?" Jaune asked the question they were all waiting for.

"Two hikers went missing." Royce answered for Ruby. "We found one. The other is...dead. The Grimm killed her. We didn't bother to try finding the body."

Even Nora had nothing to say to that. Jaune had winced when Royce answered. He didn't want that to happen but it was best that they got it out of the way.

"How...How did it happen?" Pyrrha asked after a long pause.

"Well, to be fair they did follow the path." Blake said. "But the Grimm were active in the area they were in. They got ambushed by a pair of Ursa." Team RWBY all got the full story from Professor Ozpin who had been in contact with Sergeant Tennstedt of the VPD. And as a result of the copy of the report the Forever Fall was closed to all except the Hunters and Huntresses of Vale and those who were currently enrolled at Beacon. Ozpin himself had gone down to Vale to make the recommendation to the Mayor and City Council. The news announcement about the hikers had come over the tubes a couple of hours before the morning rush.

Glynda Goodwitch herself had made the announcement in the assembly hall that missions would be planned for the first years.

"Poor guy had to leave his girlfriend behind." Royce took over from there. "She bled out too fast for him to save her."

"Oh my..." Pyrrha said looking sad. "Such a tragic thing."

"Well, what can ya do?" Yang commented raising her fork in the air. "You were right after all Royce, you can't save anyone. You just gotta do your best."

/

"Royce! Royce where-oh..."

Royce looked up from his book as he saw Weiss approaching from the side. Classes had just ended and Royce decided to get some studying done before heading back inside. It was late afternoon but because of the breeze it was a rather pleasant day. It was the weekend too and hopefully the weather would stay this way.

"You need something Weiss?" Royce asked closing his book with a loud thump.

"Oh no, just wondering what you were up to." Weiss answered sitting down in front of him. "Hey, wait a minute..." She heard music coming out of the strange device strapped to Royce's forearm. "Is that a music player?"

Royce looked at his battered old Pip Boy. "Oh this? It's a Pip Boy 3000, back home where I came from I got this when I turned ten." Sid Phillip's Boogie Man came on and Royce grinned. It was his favorite tune, he asked Three Dog if he could record some songs on the Pip Boy and spent a full day doing so. In return he did fix the disk jockey's toaster. Apparently Three Dog had been serious when he asked for the Lone Wanderer to fix said toaster.

"Pip...Boy?" Weiss asked. "What exactly does it do? Is it a scroll?"

Royce shrugged his shoulders. "Sort of...I mean it does have a map...if the stupid thing actually worked. It lets me keep notes, monitors my health, tells me what's coming at me, all sorts of useful things really." He didn't mention that it kept track of how many people and creatures he'd killed. Last time he checked the tab the body count numbered in triple digits. Even more so since he took back Project Purity with the Brotherhood.

"Oh...well, that is rather interesting." Weiss peered at the screen. It showed a cheerful looking man in a jumpsuit. Underneath it said Royce's full name. Royce Adam Walker. He didn't sleep with the thing on did he? It looked...bolted onto his arm. She asked him.

Royce answered by slipping his pinkie finger in an unseen slot. The Pip Boy beeped once and he pulled it off his forearm. "Man that feels weird." He muttered shaking his left arm. "It's like being naked."

Weiss looked at the Pip Boy with intrigue. She then handed it back. "Humph, it's heavy." She said. "And...well, tacky. Can't you at least paint it a different color?"

"What and get shot at for my trouble? Nah." Royce said with a grim smile. "Back home, I heard someone needed one of these."

"For what?"

"Opening something, so they cut the guy's arm off." Royce shrugged. "It...wasn't pretty."

"Jeez, where do you live? Some kind of barbaric wasteland?" Weiss asked looking disgusted. "What kind of man hacks another person's arm off?"

_He realized that the raider had stopped screaming and that he had been the one making the noise over the sound of the ripper's chain-blade. It was the sound of bloodcurdling, homicidal rage. Royce turned around and fired the Novasurge twice at the fleeing raiders. One was vaporized. The other lost a leg at the knee. More screams erupted as the Wanderer tore the raider apart with his bare hands. _

The memory faded as Royce smiled sadly. "The worst kind." He said then looked at the time. "Well, I'm done with what I had to do. Are you sure there wasn't anything you needed Weiss?"

Weiss blinked. Royce tended to do change moods at the drop of a hat and truth be told it kind of scared her. She won't push yet, because if she did she really didn't to know what was underneath the "mask" Royce wore all the time.

She shook her head. "Oh right! It's the weekend tomorrow!" She exclaimed.

By her side, Royce groaned. The first weekend he had at the City of Vale involved him carrying the metric ton of items that Weiss had purchased. Which compounded with Ruby's and Yang's. At least Blake had the decency to only buy a few books...

"Yeah...it is," Royce said smiling while dreading what was probably going to happen in the city of Vale. "Do you have any plans?"

"Hmm...Well I thought we could continue our little tour of the industrial district," Weiss said. "Unless you'd prefer not to."

"Oh." Last Weekend Royce and Weiss toured the city, with Weiss enthusiastically telling him all about what to see and what to do in Vale. It was very informative. Until Yang decided to drag him off to some club that had loud music and dancing. To her amusement Yang found out that Royce was not very good at dancing, in particular he was not much of a club guy at all as he stood there awkwardly while a few girls flirted with him.

It was a...different experience to be sure.

/

_City of Vale, the next day..._

Regardless of his feelings on the matter of carrying things, Royce was nevertheless still awed with the sights of the city. Decked out in his combat armor Royce felt the breeze as he sat on the bench outside the store. He didn't even bother reading the store's name. And truth be told, his arms were sore. Sore enough for him not to care.

The City of Vale was definitely not like DC. Instead of ruins and Super Mutants it instead harbored humans and the buildings had a certain charm, like the pictures of Pre-War cities like New York or San Francisco. It was all in all very pleasant. And hard to adjust or understand. The Wanderer was used to the gunfire and chaos of DC, where you were most likely targeted by Super Mutants the moment you exited the Metro Tunnels. He was used to ruined streets, ruined buildings and the haunting reminder of Pre-War times. He was used to the ramblings of a madman who had access to the speakers. He was used to the smell of raw sewage and rotting corpses of those who were unlucky enough to catch the mutants' attentions. He was used to waiting for battles to subside. Once, on the steps of the Capitol Building he had done exactly that. He watched as Talon Company and the Super Mutants fought it out until they were both weak enough for him to take down from a distance.

He was not used to the human beings that walked the streets casually talking about their next pay check or the new movie that was coming out next weekend. He was not used to Weiss telling him about the history of the City of Vale or Yang dragging him into the nearest club where the music was loud and people were dancing suggestively. He was not used to the sunny skies and the smell of a spring breeze. He was not used to peace. The Wasteland had made sure of that. It saddened him.

Royce suddenly jumped to his feet, reaching for his trench knife when Ruby tapped him on the shoulder.

"Whoa!"

Ruby backed off as Royce surprised her by instantly getting to his feet. Knife in hand, his breathing turned hard before he realized where he was and sheathed his knife. The look in his eyes was the most concerning. They were dilated.

"Ruby." Royce muttered trying to calm himself down. "Don't scare me like that."

"S-Sorry," Ruby said. "What was that about?"

"I...I don't like it when people sneak up on me like that." Royce admitted uncomfortable with telling Ruby this. "Sorry, it's-it's not your fault. You didn't know."

"It's fine!" Ruby chirped smiling. And just like that she bounced back from concern to smiling. Royce didn't understand how she did it. But it was welcome nonetheless. "I really didn't mean to scare you. But...Yang said to meet up at the fast food joint down the street."

"Crap..." Royce glanced at the stuff he had to drag over there. "Might as well get this over with." He collected the myriad shopping bags sitting on the bench next to him. With a giggle, Ruby got some bags off his arms and carried them with her. Ruby was very friendly. Royce didn't mind her being chatty at all. That and she knew quite a bit about weaponry in Remnant so it was a surprising and interesting mix. Ruby Rose was a strange, upbeat girl with a good heart.

"So...why a scythe?" Royce asked Ruby on her choice of weapon. It didn't seem too practical to him but the moment she showed off what she could do with Crescent Rose, the unholy fusion of a sniper rifle and a scythe, he was both impressed and scared.

"Cause it looks cool!" Ruby's response was enthusiastic. Royce fought hard not to chuckle. "That and my uncle's been teaching me for most of my life so, yeah!"

"I see..." Royce wondered what kind of person Ruby's uncle was.

"What about you Royce?" She asked curiously.

"Me?" Royce looked down at her.

"Pyrrha says you wanted to be a doctor." Ruby said.

"Ah yeah I did. It's a long story..." Royce answered quietly. "But my dad was one, he was a good man before he passed away," Huffing he adjusted one of the bags that was currently digging into his shoulders. "But..." His eyes narrowed as they got closer to the meeting place. He saw Weiss, Yang and Blake along with a large group of boys that did not look very friendly. Weiss was displeased and the words she exchanged with the big guy in the lead were not nice at all. One of his friends stepped forward to touch her. Weiss slapped that hand away.

"They've got it covered." Ruby said as the pair watched Yang drop one of the boys, a guy with a bad haircut, with a sucker punch that would have made any street brawer proud. That was enough to make the ruffians think twice.

Royce calmly walked over with Ruby in tow.

/

"Hey Royce!" Yang waved cheerfully as though she didn't just knock a guy unconscious. Her grin grew wider as she spotted Ruby with him, both carrying their stuff. "We're just having a chat."

"Yeah I know," Royce said as he put down the bags of stuff. He then turned to look at the gang of ruffians. "Friends of yours?"

"We just met," Blake answered calmly. The ruffians looked at Royce warily. Beacon Academy students were usually allowed to go into the City on weekends. Now that Team RWBY was together, most of the wannabe gangbangers were terrified to realize that they were dealing with Hunters.

"Hey Johnny?" The youngest one yelped. "I...think we should leave."

Johnny, the big guy in charge, shook his head angrily.

"Hey, back off." He told the bastard in the dark green combat armor. The Wanderer just regarded him with a raised eye brow then turned to the blonde girl.

"How's the food here?" He asked casually.

Yang smiled. "Always with the food, huh Royce? Well, it ain't so bad. I hear they've got the best fries here."

"Uh guys?" Ruby waved towards the gangbangers who were looking quite angry.

Johnny pushed Royce's shoulder. "Hey asshole, fuck off! We got here first-" He never did finish that sentence.

Johnny was rejected by Beacon Academy on accounts of his criminal background. His gang consisted of other rejects and since then they've been causing quite a lot of trouble in the City of Vale. He was quite big and broad, reaching a height of about six feet and his broad muscular build was the result of numerous brawls across the streets.

He never stood a chance.

Royce Walker turned and punched Johnny Olin in the face with a brute haymaker, putting his entire body weight into the punch. The gangbanger flew backwards and hit the cement spread eagle. He was out cold. Weiss and Ruby winced in sympathy. Blake watched impassively as Yang gave a respectful nod. Royce glared coldly at the unconscious brawler before turning his attention to the others. They took one look at Royce before running off.

The Lone Wanderer turned back to his teammates. "Right, sorry about that." He said dusting his hands off.


End file.
